Mount Academy reaches state mock trial tourney

ESOPUS — For the first time in 12 years, an Ulster County High School mock trial team will be competing for the state championship title in the New York State Bar Association mock trial competition.

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Posted May. 14, 2013 at 3:10 PM

Posted May. 14, 2013 at 3:10 PM

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ESOPUS — For the first time in 12 years, an Ulster County High School mock trial team will be competing for the state championship title in the New York State Bar Association mock trial competition.

The team from Mount Academy High School, in Esopus, won both the Ulster County competition and the regional competition to secure a spot in the state finals, which will be held May 20-21 at the federal courthouse in Albany.

"The mock trial competition is a terrific event," Ulster County Bar Association President Deborah Schneer said. "The kids all work very hard and perform very well. They serve as inspiration for all attorneys in Ulster County. The Mount Academy team won the Ulster County competition in a very hard-fought competition. They did an excellent job. We are extremely proud that an Ulster County team is going to the finals."

Mount Academy defeated New Paltz High School in the Ulster County finals, which were judged by Ulster County Family Court Judge Anthony McGinty. They went on to participate in the regional competition against five other countywide winning teams.

In the final round of the regionals, Mount Academy beat Goshen High School.

Mount Academy has had a mock trial team for four years and this is the first time it has made it to the state finals. The last time an Ulster County team went to the finals was in 2001, when Kingston High School competed for the state championship.

The Ulster County Bar Association organizes the countywide competition. Teams of high school students are given both sides of a legal case. Students must study the law and relevant cases and the fact pattern provided. Three students serve as attorneys, and others serve as witnesses.

Student attorneys conduct direct examination of their own witnesses, cross examine opposing witnesses and make opening and closing statements. The trials are conducted in accord with the rules of civil or criminal procedure, and students may make objections to evidence and must articulate the basis for doing so.

Teams work both with a supervising teacher and an attorney-coach. Local judges and attorneys judge each trial.